Hand-truck



(No Model.)

M. M QUISTON.

HAND TRUCK Patented Feb. 5, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn,

MORRIS MCQUIST'ON, OF GREENSBURG, INDIANA.

HAND-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,605, dated February 5, 1895. Application filed October 29, 1894- Serial No. 527,165 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Monnrs MoQUIsT-ON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greensburg, in the county of Decatur and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Trucks; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being bad to the annexed drawings, which form part of this specification.

' This invention relates to those hand-trucks whichare capable of being turnedup to an erect position and then used for elevating freight, baggage and other heavy articles a limited distance, and the principal feature of my improvement comprises a novel construction that enablesa ready application of great power to the lifting devices, or jack, and without rendering ittoo heavy and complicated, the details of said construction bein g hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed'drawings-Figure 1 is a front elevation of my hand-truck in an erect position, to be used as a lifting-jack. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the slide of the jack. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of said slide. Fig. 5 is a section of one end of the operating lever detached from the jack.

The main frame of the truck proper consists of a pair of parallel side-pieces A, A, united by end pieces B, B the piece B being extended at b, b, to serve as handles, and

the sides A, A, being provided with guides ct, a, that confine a slide 0 to a proper path within said frame. This slide has a central, longitudinal groove 0, represented in Fig. 4, which groove admits a bar D, having ratchet teeth d, on its rear edge, the ends of said bar being secured to the cross pieces B, B, in any suitable manner. Attached to the back of this slide is a guide or housing E, having an upper slot 2, and a lower one 6, the upper slot being furnished with a pawl F. This pawl is not coupled to the housing, but is loosely fitted therein, so as to move back and forth with perfect freedom, and is normally held in engagement with the ratchet bar by a spring G, one end of the latter being connected to a pin f that passes transversely through the pawl near its exposed end. Situated between this pin, and the housing E, is a hole f, in said pawl, to admit a pin h, that projects laterally from an operating lever H, which lever may be five or six feet long, so as to afford a very great lifting power on the jack. h is a hole in this lever, to admit pawl-pin f.

Pivoted in the housing E is a click orother automatic stop I, of the shape represented, one end of said click being carried through the lower slot 5', and having a spring t' attached to it, for the purpose of keeping the effective end of said click in contact with the ratchet bar D.

Projecting from the front of slide 0, is a shoe J of the proper size and shape to support a barrel or box or other bulky package, and, in addition to this shoe, said slide has a pair of staples K, K, to which the ends of a chain or rope may be temporarily coupled, to hold such articles as might be liable to roll off said shoe. The side pieces A, A are secured to stout metallic-bearings or feet L, L, having an axle M fitted to them, the axle being provided with a pair of wheels N, N. Furthermore, these feet are so shaped as to be the sole support for the truck when it is in a vertical position, at which time the wheels clear the ground, as more plainly seen in Fig. 2.

0 represents a leg, or a pair of legs that prevent the devices F, I, striking the ground when the truck is in its normal or almost horizontal position, the lever I l being then disconnected from the pawl F. Consequently, the truck can now be used as readily as any other vehicle of a similar character, but when a barrel or other heavy box or package is to be raised to the level of a wagon-bed or car floor, the truck is stood erect, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and the slide beinglowered, the barrel is rolled upon the shoe J, and then the lever H is coupled to the pawl F, in the manner shown in Fig. 4. The lever is now worked up and down, in the same way as a pumphandle, and at every up stroke, the slide is forced up a limited distance by the pawl F coming in contact with the upper end of slot e; but before a down stroke is commenced, the lever must be pulled back a sufdcient distance to disengage the pawl from the ratchet bar, and then another up stroke is made, the

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